2016 AIME II Problems/Problem 14

Revision as of 20:14, 17 March 2016 by Shaddoll (talk | contribs) (Solution)

Equilateral $\triangle ABC$ has side length $600$. Points $P$ and $Q$ lie outside the plane of $\triangle ABC$ and are on opposite sides of the plane. Furthermore, $PA=PB=PC$, and $QA=QB=QC$, and the planes of $\triangle PAB$ and $\triangle QAB$ form a $120^{\circ}$ dihedral angle (the angle between the two planes). There is a point $O$ whose distance from each of $A,B,C,P,$ and $Q$ is $d$. Find $d$.

Solution

The inradius of $\triangle ABC$ is $100\sqrt 3$ and the circumradius is $200 \sqrt 3$. Now, consider the line perpendicular to plane $ABC$ through the circumcenter of $\triangle ABC$. Note that $P,Q,O$ must lie on that line to be equidistant from each of the triangle's vertices. Also, note that since $P, Q, O$ are collinear, and $OP=OQ$, we must have $O$ is the midpoint of $PQ$. Now, Let $K$ be the circumcenter of $\triangle ABC$, and $L$ be the foot of the altitude from $A$ to $BC$. We must have $\tan(\angle KLP+ \angle QLK)= \tan(120^{\circ})$. Setting $KP=x$ and $KQ=y$, assuming WLOG $x>y$, we must have $(\tan(120^{\circ})=-\sqrt{3}=\dfrac{\dfrac{x+y}{100 \sqrt{3}}}{\dfrac{30000-xy}{30000}}$. Therefore, we must have $100(x+y)=xy-30000$. Also, we must have $(\dfrac{x+y}{2})^{2}=(\dfrac{x-y}{2})^{2}+120000$ by the Pythagorean theorem, so we have $xy=120000$, so substituting into the other equation we have $90000=100(x+y)$, or $x+y=900$. Since we want $\dfrac{x+y}{2}$, the desired answer is $\boxed{450}$.

Solution by Shaddoll